The Demon Slayers of Svargam
by SimpleRhapsody
Summary: When Svargam, a planet from a distant cluster of realms, is on the brink of war with demons, they reach out for help from a realm known for its warriors: Asgard. War goddesses Kali and Durga, along with King Shiva, travel to Asgard to seek aid. But one night, one young prince, one war goddess, and one mistake threaten the existence of both realms. Based on Hindu mythology. PreThor.


**AN: **This story was inspired by Hindu mythology. Keep in mind that this isn't meant to be 100% accurate. It was _inspired_. So, for example, some of the gods have multiple names; I may treat those forms as separate deities altogether. Just go with it! For reference, here are the main Hindu characters and terms that will be mentioned:

**Durga:** In mythology was created by the trinity of gods Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu to defeat the demon Mahishasura, who could only be defeated by a woman. She has 10 arms. Travels on her mount, a lion named Ranjit.  
**Kali:** Dark blue skin, four arms, a chaotic goddess of war who lives for battle and drinks the blood of her enemies, gaining strength from it. She grows drunk off battle and is capable of destroying the world. She is also Shiva's consort. Travels on her mount, a tiger named Ranvir.  
**Shiva:** One of the trinity, created Durga. Kali, Sati, and Parvati are all his wives, and he is said to be the only one who can calm Kali when she is drunk on battle. Rules over Svargam, with Vishnu and Brahma.  
**Brahma:** The ultimate king. Created Vishnu and Shiva. Savitri is his wife.  
**Vishnu:** One of the trinity; protection and sustenance. Shri is his wife.  
**Deva:** Means "shiny beings" in Sanskrit. From what I've gathered, devas are similar to angels. Devas are what the citizens of Svargam are called.  
**Svargam:** The name of their realm

**Disclaimer:**I own none of the Marvel characters. Only the idea is mine.

**Also Note:_ This is pre-Thor. This is meant to be way before anything happened in Thor, when Loki and Thor are still brothers who love each other._**

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

"We need _help_," Durga urges the three kings before her. "The demons kings are rising, combining their armies, and I fear we are not powerful enough to stop them."

"I agree," Kali's strong voice rings out. Durga glances to her left, her eyes lingering on the other warrior. "Before, there has never been an enemy that neither Durga nor I could defeat with our armies or together. But this is different. You know how it pains me to seek aid, Shiva." Durga looks to Shiva as Kali implores him. Of all Shiva's three consorts, Kali is the only one who has any influence. "But we have no choice."

The three kings are silent, thoughtful. Brahma, the mightiest, sits in the center; to his right is Shiva, Kali's consort and the most bloodthirsty, and to his left is Vishnu, the gentler of the three.

"And who," Brahma finally speaks, his voice ringing through the golden room, "do we ask for help? The other realms fear us." He looks pointedly at Kali, who meets his eyes and raises her chin. Of course Svargam is feared by the other realms; Kali had, in a fit of bloodlust, nearly destroyed them all.

"They are wise to fear us," Kali says.

"But they will not help us," Brahma counters.

"We don't need _their_ help," Durga murmurs. "The warriors of any of our realms are—insufficient. Children. They would be slaughtered."

"Speak your mind, woman," Brahma commands; he is losing his patience.

"The warriors of Asgard. You've heard the stories. Odin's armies are legendary. They have never met a foe they could not conquer. We need their help."

"We do not," Shiva snaps, "need anyone's help. We can handle the demons as we have before!"

"At what cost?" Durga reasons. "Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, please. We will be annihilated."

"She is right," Kali says, her voice grudging. "If we try to do this on our own, Svargam will become home to the demons, and we'll be little more than their slaves. The demons are stronger. My army barely managed to defeat a small group of them yesterday."

Silence falls. Durga looks at Kali and meets her black eyes, dark pits in her dark face. Durga does not have friends; she has allies. But if she had to call anyone her friend, it would be Kali, wild as she is. Kali had saved Durga's life and come to her aid more times than Durga cared to admit. Though there was a part of her who feared the midnight-skinned warrior's wrath, she was grateful to have her on her side in this moment. Kali was the single best, most effective warrior on Svargam. Her battles were legendary, both on Svargam and on the other realms. If the kings would listen to no one else, they would listen to Kali.

"Leave us," the kings command, waving a hand at the two women. Durga can see Kali bristling, and her white teeth flash. She reaches out and grabs Kali's wrist, giving her a steady look.

"Yes," Durga says. "As you wish."

Outside the golden room of the three kings, Durga leans against a pillar and Kali paces like a caged animal. Durga knows she hates this situation; she hates being powerless. Never before has Kali met an enemy that she could not destroy; that she has to even suggest that she needs help, Durga knows, wounds her pride deeply. The fact that the demons have pushed both Durga _and_ Kali to seek help should be more than enough evidence for the three kings.

"They will see reason," Durga soothes, but Kali has never been one for soothing.

"They had better," Kali growls. "Or I will go to Asgard myself. I will not fall before the demon kings."

"Nor will I," Durga promises. "But you must be patient, Kali."

Kali's bottomless black eyes flick up to meet Durga's. She does not look convinced. Durga sighs as Kali continues to pace. It seems to take hours, and perhaps it does, but finally the two warriors are summoned back into the golden room. There is silence again. Finally:

"We have alerted Odin of your visit." Kali smiles, her tongue flicking over her pointed canines, like the fangs of a cobra. A wave of relief washes over Durga. "Shiva will accompany the both of you. Our situation is dire; do whatever you must to convince Odin to send aide, but do not make us seem weak."

"Of course," Durga says.

"We do not have much time," Kali reminds Brahma. "We must leave immediately, before the demon kings can rally themselves and send another army."

"I understand, Kali," Brahma says coldly, and Kali looks irritated. "The three of you must glamour yourselves." Kali hisses in disapproval, but Brahma silences her with a raised hand. "Asgardians look different than we do. We do not want to scare them off before they agree to help us."

"They ought to know what they're dealing with, should they cross us."

"_Kali_,_"_ Brahma warns.

"As you wish," Durga says, before Kali can say anything. She looks hard at Kali, who holds her gaze before rolling her eyes.

"As you wish," she mutters.

"Let me see."

Kali hesitates, but Durga gives her a nod. Durga knows that she hates to use glamours, but Brahma is right. They do look different from Asgardians. Kali closes her eyes, and as Durga watches, two of her four arms vanish. She blinks her black eyes, and when she opens them they look more like Asgardian eyes; white pupils with black irises, rather than solid black. Her fanglike teeth disappear, but her skin remains blue. She refuses to change it, and if necessary, Durga will fight for this right. Kali is the only one on Svargam with midnight skin; it is unique and it is beautiful. Kali looks to Brahma for approval, and he eyes her outfit. She wears a necklace of bones and demon skulls, and a gold collar that encircles her neck and covers her breasts. Her blue abdomen is bare. Another fine gold circlet encircles her hips, and from it dangles a ghastly skirt, made up of blackened, clawed hands; the hands of her kills.

The skull necklace is replaced with gold ones. Her golden collar falls away, replaced by red silk to cover her breasts, nipping in at her waist and flowing down her back. Gold plates and beads cover her pelvis, and from the center plate dangles more red silk, exposing her legs but covering her backside and femininity. Gold bangles circle her wrists, forearms, and upper arms, as well as her ankles. With a snap of her fingers, her golden trident appears in her hand; her weapon of choice. A sword rests at her hip.

"Beautiful," Durga says, and Kali smirks at her.

"And now, you."

Durga has never dressed the way that Kali does; terrifying and gruesome. She is fierce, but modest. Of her ten arms, eight vanish, leaving her with two. She does not need to change her eyes or her skin. Instead, she changes out of her armor, glamouring herself with a floor-length, modest red and green wrapped dress. The jewel in the center of her forehead resembles a third eye, as it is meant to. Delicate fold chains form a headdress, and she is finished.

"Beautiful," Kali says.

Shiva is the next to change. His pale green skin remains pale; four of his six arms vanish. He remains in his regal, kingly clothing; flowing, silk gold pants, no shirt aside from the spotted animal pelt draped over one shoulder. A cobra is wound around his neck, in and out of his long, dark hair, which is half-piled into a knot at the top of his head. Shiva is very handsome; beautiful, even in the midst of battle. He and Kali are a terrifying force. Durga suspects that Odin won't refuse them.

"Be swift," Brahma tells them when the transformation is complete. "See to it that they help us."

"They will regret it if they choose not to," Kali says. "I will see to it."

"Let us hope that it does not come to that."

* * *

"_I want you to witness this,"_ Odin had said. "_It is time my sons learned something about politics."_

And so there he stood, to Odin's left, while Thor stood on the right side of the throne. Loki was not entirely certain what the commotion was about; only that something was happening that had not happened for thousands of years. Something that had not happened even in Odin's time: Someone, from another cluster of realms, was traveling to their world. Odin was not sure why; or at least he hadn't mentioned it to Loki, or even Thor, as far as Loki knew.

Thor looked bored, which did not surprise Loki. Thor always had been one who lacked an interest in politics, instead preferring simply to act first and think later. He looked out at the council people, sitting side by side on either side of the long walkway that their visitors would travel to meet the foot of Odin's throne.

"They have arrived," Odin murmured. Sure enough, the bifrost had lit up, and within a few moments the doors had opened. Three figures, flanked by guards, entered and the doors closed behind them. Each of them sat upon a strange steed; the one in the center was astride a monstrous gray beast; an elephant, he realized. The one on the left rode atop a large lion, and on the right was a tiger. He had never seen anything like this before, and he chanced a glance at his brother, who looked intrigued.

"Welcome," said Odin as the three _very_ strange looking people came to a halt before him. The lion and tiger and elephant all knelt down, allowing their riders to dismount. A man with green skin, riding atop the elephant, took the lead; a blue skinned woman dismounted the tiger, and a bronze-skinned woman the lion. The two women flanked him.

"Odin of Asgard," said the man, making a strange, curling gesture with his hand. "A pleasure."

The women didn't move. None of the three knelt before him, and Loki's skin prickled. It was disrespectful.

"You would do well," Thor rumbled, "to show some respect."

The man's dark eyes flicked over to Thor. The blue-skinned woman snapped her head around to look at him as well, and Loki noticed her fingers tighten on her trident.

"Pardon?"

"Thor," Odin rumbled in warning. "They are from an entirely different system. Their culture is different." Thor said nothing. "Lord Shiva, I presume," Odin went on, and Shiva slowly returned his gaze to Odin.

"Correct," the man said in a smooth voice.

"These are my sons; Thor and Loki."

Shiva nodded. "My wife, Kali," Shiva said, and Kali raised her chin, "and Durga; The Demon Slayers of Svargam, Svargam's finest warriors. I assume you've heard the tales."

Loki remembered reading something about them. Durga, created of three men to destroy a demon who could be killed by only a woman. Kali, who had defeated a mighty demon and, in a fit of bloodlust, had nearly destroyed her system of realms. Shiva, one of their three kings, the only one who had been able to stop Kali.

"I have," Odin said. "They are… unbelievable."

"They are true," Shiva said.

"Why are you here?" Odin asked curiously.

"We have come to… request your aid."

Loki's ears pricked at this. This man, with two women at his side who had destroyed armies of demons, required their aid?

"What," Odin inquired, "could possibly be so threatening that you require our help?"

"Demons," Shiva said, and Loki's heart jumped a little. He was grateful beyond words that Asgard did not have demons. They were terrifying beings. The embodiment, the essence of darkness and evil. Shapeshifters, horrible beasts, bloodthirsty and cunning. They would tear you up and eat you slowly, so that you were alive to feel it all; they would rape and devour women. They—

"Demons," Odin echoed, and the hall grew uneasy.

"The demon kings are rising, forming armies," Shiva said, "and they hope to kill us all. They are great in number."

"Surely," Odin said, "Kali could destroy them. From what I have heard, she is more than capable."

Kali scowled. The tiger behind her growled. "She could," Shiva allowed. "But in doing so, she could destroy our realm and the others."

"Why not seek help from your own realms?"

"They are too frightened of the demons."

"As they should be," Thor said. He was right, Loki thought. Demons were not creatures one wanted to be tangled up with. How the Svargam people managed to survive was beyond him.

"But we know of your people, your armies," Shiva went on. "We thought that, if anyone would be brave enough to help us, it would be the mighty armies of Asgard."

Did Loki imagine the small curl of the blue woman, Kali's, lip?

"I see," Odin said.

"If I may," Kali spoke up, drawing the attention of the room. For the first time, Loki took in the two women. He had avoided looking at them; they were beautiful, and it was impolite and disrespectful to look at another man's wife in such a way. But now that she was speaking his eyes were on her. She was beautiful—they both were. Durga, with her large, dark eyes, smudged with kohl, and the tumbling dark hair. She was stunning. Kali was something else entirely; lovely, yes, but strange. There was a fierce light in her eyes, and Loki knew he should fear her. She was a monster by the legends. But it was difficult not to look at her, given her chosen outfit. His eyes were drawn to the small of her waist, where her hips flared out. He was more fascinated than he was attracted to her. How he would love to talk to her, to hear her stories firsthand. Looking back up, he found that she was staring at him, and her eyes told him that he would be dead by morning.

He ignored the look and narrowed his eyes at her. He noticed that Shiva was watching him too, but to his surprise, the other man looked pleased, which puzzled Loki.

"Odin," Kali said when he nodded in allowance for her to speak. "If you do not help us, I fear for Svargam. We could handle the threat, but at what cost? I do not want to lose any more of my men than I have to. Your warriors are strong, they are fearless, and they have never lost a war. Should you agree, Durga and I will train them personally, with your permission, of course. The other realms will hear nothing but of your greatness. But without your help, I do fear for our people, and it pains me to admit it, but even I know when I am facing unlikely odds."

Odin stroked his chin. Durga had remained silent through the exchange, her dark eyes watchful.

"Keep in mind," Durga said, "that while we are a powerful people the demons are powerful in darker, crueler ways. Should we be defeated, they won't stop at our home. They will consume our realm, and our system, and I promise you that they will never be satiated."

Her implication was clear, and hung above them all.

"If you help us now," Kali said, "we may be able to put an end to the threat for good."

"I hope," Odin said, "that you do not expect me to decide tonight."

"Of course not," Shiva said. "But it is of utmost—urgency."

"Of course," Odin said. "You have made yourselves clear. Is there anything else you wish to share?"

"Only that we would be eternally grateful," Durga said. "And helping us would ensure us as your allies in the future. And we are a powerful ally."

Loki wasn't sure about the rest of the planet, but he knew that Durga and Kali alone were enough of a force. Odin nodded.

"Give me three days," he finally said. "And you will have my answer. I understand that the journey from Svargam to Asgard is not an easy one; you are more than welcome to rest here until then. We will find a place for your mounts."

Shiva inclined his head, as did Durga. Kali didn't move. Her tiger's tail twitched and it rumbled deeply.

"Thank you," Shiva said.

* * *

And presently, Loki and Thor pace Thor's chambers; Odin had sent them away to be alone with the council. Thor, of course, wants to fight. Demons! What greater challenge was there? But Loki is uncertain. He is more than a little unnerved by the strange people.

"Their skin," Thor goes on. "How strange! Their king was green, and their greatest warrior _blue_!"

"I saw," Loki replies dryly. "Congratulations on identifying your colors, Thor."

Thor rumbles out a laugh as Loki seats himself in a chair.

"The best warriors," Thor muses. "Bah! I bet I could take them."

"Best not to try it, I think," Loki says. "Unless you want Asgard, Midgard, Jotunheim… all of the nine realms to be destroyed."

"Do you think that is true?"

"I sense a chaos about Kali," Loki murmurs, "and that is putting it mildly."

"She is just a girl," Thor reasons.

"I would keep those thoughts to myself," Loki warns. "I, for one, would prefer to keep my home intact."

"And their mounts," Thor goes on, "have you ever seen such fearsome beasts as steeds?"

Loki shrugs.

"Come on, brother," Thor urges. "Do at least pretend to be intrigued."

"I am," Loki says. "Just not by the same things you are."

"Ah," Thor says, mischief in his eyes. "So the two beautiful women standing before you did _not_ intrigue you? How strange you are, Loki."

Loki sighs and rolls his eyes, finally looking at his brother. "Is that what you're on about?"

"Tell me that you would not like to bed them."

Finally, Loki smirks. "Together, or separately?" His smile is crooked.

"Ha!" Thor laughs. "There he is."

Loki chuckles. "I wouldn't try it," he says. "They would bed you and then kill you afterward. And besides, Kali is married." Thor seems to ignore his warnings. "I mean it, Thor. You will end up dead."

"Ridiculous," Thor laughs, coming over to knock Loki's head. "I heard that they have more than two arms—just imagine—"

"And keep your voice down," Loki snaps reproachfully. "They may hear you, and I don't think they would take kindly to such talk."

Thor sighs. "Ever careful, aren't you?"

Loki smiles slightly. "I value my own life, that is all."

"Ah," Thor says, "but perhaps try and live it every now and then, Loki."

* * *

**AN:** Review, please! If any of you who used to follow me for my old story, _Twisted_ are back, then HI! Sorry I've been gone so long! I hope you all enjoy this story! Reviews really help the writing process, as you already know, and the next chapter will feature: Interaction between the goddesses and the brothers :)


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